Lakers favored against Clippers as NBA resumes season

The NBA will restart its season Thursday with a doubleheader headlined by the Lakers and Clippers in a battle of Los Angeles and two of the league’s favorites to win the title.

If the Clippers lose to the Lakers, they can blame it on Lou Williams’ magic wings, er, Magic City wings.

Williams, the two-time defending NBA Sixth Man of the Year, recently left the NBA’s bubble near Orlando, Florida, to attend a funeral in an excused absence. But after a photo was posted on social media showing Williams at the Magic City strip club in Atlanta, the NBA imposed a 10-day quarantine, forcing the Clippers guard to miss at least two games.

Williams defended himself on Twitter, claiming he only made a quick stop at the strip club to pick up food. Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel backed him up, posting on Twitter that “Believe it or not, the chicken wings at Magic City are the best I’ve ever had.”

Fact or fiction, Williams is out for Thursday’s game, and so is Clippers power forward Montrezl Harrell, a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Several other Clippers in quarantine questionable for the game include point guards Patrick Beverley and Landry Shamet and center Ivica Zubac.

Lakers (-4) over Clippers

The Lakers are 4-point favorites after the line opened at 1, and handicapper Doug Fitz is backing LeBron James and Co. to cover the spread.

“The Clippers are undermanned and don’t appear to be focused,” said Fitz (Systemplays.com). “The aftermath of Williams’ violation of quarantine rules prompted coach Doc Rivers to publicly announce his disappointment.

“The Lakers should be able to wear down the Clippers, especially in the second half, and cover the relatively short number.”

Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman took the Lakers at -1.

Pelicans (-2½) over Jazz

Sherman took Zion Williamson-led New Orleans over Utah at pick’em in Thursday’s opening game, and the line has since climbed to 2½.

“The Pelicans’ power rating kept increasing the whole season. When Zion Williamson is in the lineup, they were a pretty tough team,” Sherman said. “Some of it is the Jazz, too. They had chemistry issues at the end with (Donovan) Mitchell and (Rudy) Gobert. It’s going to be interesting to see how they react on the court now.”

Lower totals

Sherman said the totals for NBA games in the bubble have dropped by an average of five points.

“They don’t have a crowd, and they had the big layoff,” he said. “Who knows what kind of shape they’re in. It might take a few games to get their conditioning back.”

The Lakers-Clippers total is 216, and the Jazz-Pelicans total is 222½.

NBA title odds

The Lakers, Bucks and Clippers are the three clear favorites to win the championship. The Lakers lead the way at +225 at the Westgate, followed by Milwaukee at +275 and the Clippers at 3-1. The rest of the teams are in double digits. The odds are similar at William Hill, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.

“The Lakers are attracting money now. We moved them from (+275) to (+225),” Sherman said. “They’ve been probably the most popular team since everything came back.”

The Westgate took an $8,000 wager to win $200,000 on the Denver Nuggets to win the title at 25-1 and more money at 20-1 before moving them to 16-1.

The Houston Rockets also are at 16-1 after the Westgate took wagers of $4,000 and $3,000 on them at 20-1.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.